Jarosław Fliciński

BORN 1965, Gdańsk

The painter uses simple, colour-harmonising, flat motifs such as circles, lines, serially multiplied rosettes or stars. “In reference to the time-honoured canons of modernism, he reduces the elements of the visible world to a play of geometrised forms and basic colours,” writes Anda Rottenberg about Fliciński’s painting. The artist practices canvas painting but also creates painting installations that take advantage of the architecture of exhibition spaces. Fliciński studied on the Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology, and at the Graduate School for the Arts in Gdańsk. He has participated in several artist-in-residence programs, including at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas in 2002. He was the laureate of the New York’s Arts Link Foundation award

Jumps into the Water III*46

What builds the dynamism of Jumps into the Water are its internal rhythms. The seemingly non-representational piece addresses the viewer with the power of geometric order. Its main feature is a grid-like pattern; perhaps a distant echo of a tiled swimming pool floor. The composition references minimalist thinking, as well as exposing a fascination with Op Art. The picture demonstrates that Fliciński’s work is not just an intellectual game about space but also art that demands the viewer’s active involvement, and is co-created by their gaze and reception.